10 Reasons to Love (and Hate) the New Year’s Holiday

Another year, another New Year’s Eve. Drink some champagne, sing a few bars of “Auld Lang Syne,” make a resolution, and you’re done. Simple.

And yet, many of us are confused about whether to love or hate this holiday.

Here’s why.

There’s Nothing to do on New Year’s Day

It’s the only day of the year where it’s acceptable, even encouraged, to sit in front of the TV all day watching a House Hunters marathon while eating stale almond cookies dipped in eggnog (not that I do that).

And yet . . . Because of our New Year’s Day sloth, our kids have been watching TV for so long their eyes have crossed. It’s difficult to swallow hard cookies when you’re choking on parental guilt, but that’s what the eggnog is for.

Champagne

Light and sweet, those cool bubbles slip down your throat with the most delightful tickle, glass after sparkling glass.

And yet . . . Worst. Hangover. Ever.

Drunk People

Ah, the bonhomie of the drunk New Year’s Eve reveler. Drunk people are friendly, and it’s one of the only days in the year where you can bear hug a complete stranger without being arrested.

And yet . . . at the end of the night, some of those friendly drunks get behind the wheels of their cars and drive home. And get arrested.

Packing up Holiday Decorations

Nothing says “clean” like the post-holiday decoration pack up. There’s something deeply satisfying about vacuuming up every stray pine needle, not to mention those dust bunnies, squashed pieces of popcorn and broken rubber bands from every other day of the year.

And yet . . . Now you have to dismantle the “12 Days of Christmas” light display on your roof, and 30 feet is a long, long way to fall.

Fireworks

What better way to welcome the New Year than with sparkling, colorful bursts of light in the dark sky?

And yet . . . I promised my dog only one heart attack a year, and it’s currently reserved for the 4th of July.

New Year’s Day TV

18 consecutive episodes of Law and Order SUV? Bring. It. On.

And yet . . . Infomercials, all of them for weight loss programs. I hear you, Jenny Craig, but can’t it wait until January 2? Now, where did I put that cookie?

No Cards or Gifts Required

Finally, a holiday where you don’t have to buy anything, wrap anything, send anything or do anything. You can even skip New Year’s Eve if you want, and get a head start on your TV, eggnog and cookie fest.

And yet . . . Only the most confident among us take advantage of this loophole. The rest of us fall prey to a phenomenon known as Fear of Being a Loser. So, grab that champagne, force your feet into those heels that make your toes bleed and get out there, damn it.

The New Year’s Eve Hug

There’s one for everyone. The New Year’s Eve hug does not discriminate against children, the elderly or those who lack a significant other. It’s a democratic, equal opportunity hug.

And yet . . . It’s followed by the New Year’s Eve kiss, the part of the evening where the chasm between hype and reality is the most pronounced. Last year I managed to get about half a lip on my husband before I had to dive for my son before he spilled sparkling cider all over our host’s suede sofa.

Auld Lang Syne

Holidays are all about tradition, and this is one of the classics. There’s a reason why we all know the words to this song.

And yet . . . It’s the most annoying song in the world. The words don’t make sense. What is “auld lang syne,” anyway? No one knows, but rest assured that some drunken sage will attempt to explain it to you before the evening’s out.

Resolutions

There’s something reassuring about distilling an entire year’s worth of goals into one simple, glib statement, like “Achieve Balance,” or “Become a Better Person.”

And yet . . . the very glib simplicity of the New Year’s resolution is a mockery, because as simple as they sound, resolutions are destined to fail. We all know this, yet we continue to make them every year. The best we can hope for is that we don’t get so drunk we make them publicly, and then have to explain at next year’s New Year’s Eve party why we’re still unbalanced and a terrible person.

So there you have it. The fireworks and the champagne, the hug and the kiss, and the drunk and the fattening, the New Year’s holiday is a confusing mix of them all, a quivering miasma of the good mixed with the bad.

I hate New Year’s Resolutions. We all know what is wrong with ourselves. We know what needs to change. If it were easy, we would have done it yesterday. It is quickly made and as quickly broken. It is one day where the best thing about it is being with my family. And yet…after an entire family filled holiday season, I could really handle a quiet day to myself! Have a wonderful New Year!

Well, in our younger days, we went to several parties but, now that we’re much older, senior discount older, we’re both lucky to stay up until 10 PM because we figure it’s already the New Year in parts of the world and so, we just celebrate early with fine dining (pizza) and amazing drinks (water or tea). We are rebels and that’s how we roll 🙂 LOL

Have a Happy Healthy New Year to you and yours and continued success in your writing and to Ms. Sally Hogan, I hope you get your wish for the chance to be published in 2016 for I love reading new authors.

You pretty much summed it up–hubby watching football now and will tomorrow also. That means no Days of Our Lives, which ended with a cliff hanger and will have to wait for Monday to find out what happens. Anyway, Happy New Year and I look forward to reading your books in 2016!

The last several years we have spend the holidays with our daughter in the Philadelphia area. It has become our tradition to watch the Mummer’ s Parade and Festivities on TV all day. Drives hubby crazy but Erin and I love it. The Mummer s are really unique.

I love to make those resolutions, both on my birthday and New Year’s. It’s keeping them that’s the problem. This year, I decided to start with small steps, the salami approach. Hmmm, salami, now that sounds good. (Oh, no.)

You mentioned your dog and fireworks, which is a good thing. You didn’t mention the stupid people who think they can handle fireworks and land in the emergency room with slight to serious injuries. Even the professionals get injuries.

So true, Barbara. We had friends who’s house was set on fire one fourth of July by people who didn’t know how to handle fireworks. No one was hurt, but it was a miracle they weren’t. We did get fireworks here in Portland last night. My poor dog hid under the bed!

Have one New Year Resolution: Do one more thing. I try to do one more thing each day that I find myself saying ” I’ll do that later or tomorrow.” It can be as little as picking a paper off the floor or as big as washing the floors. It helps me avoid putting things off. Has been helpful for years.

I love that idea, Janet! I’ve never thought of a New Year’s resolution as being something simple like that, but then that’s the problem with most resolutions. We try to do too much and we can’t see it through. It’s much better to set ourselves up for success!